The Tension of Ages

My family and I went out for a fall hike at Stinchfield Woods in Pinckney today. It was a beautiful hike (most of my excursions to Stinchfield have been) though my daughter’s little legs only lasted about two miles. As I drove home through downtown Dexter I passed a cemetery where sporadic, elegant maples towered above the manicured lawns and gravesites. The peak of autumn colors was still about a week or so away so only the slightest hints of their future glory shone in the afternoon sunlight. I marveled at height and breadth of the towering sentinels and wondered how many years it had taken for them to attain such heights. How many decades of drivers passed by or mourners wept in their shade?

The contrast for me was stark: here these stalwart organisms grew, towering up toward the sun outpacing their floral competition while beneath their boughs generations of humans lay buried beneath the good earth. It spoke to me of the transitory nature of man. Though long-lived for mammals, humans pale in comparison to other created things. Everything that encompasses this earthly life exists within the realm of our transitory nature. Our glories dissipate as we breathe our last (if not before) and the things we have accumulated pass into other hands, their meanings slowly lost over the years. We have little hope of any true, lasting impact even among those who we have loved. Eventually, monuments and memories fail and even the most world-shifting impacts become footnotes to history before they too are forgotten to the ages.

As morbid and futile as all this sounds, there is freedom in our transitory state too. All of the trials we struggle with are a breeze that blows but for a moment. All of the strife of this world will pass. The earth-shaking decisions and choices are mere bumps in the road of redemptive history. For those who trust in Christ, even the eventuality of the cessation of life is not final. For us, the comfort that comes in knowing the frailty and ephemerality of man outpaces the momentary troubles of the day, for we will rise.

As we in America struggle with the uncertainty and outright disgust of another presidential election, there remains a joy in knowing that these troubles, as mighty and desperate as they seem, will pass. History will continue. New crises will arise, new joys will be known. As we struggle with the pain and scars that are born from the innate sinfulness of man (there is no real denying that in our current age is there?) there comfort arises when we realize that no moment of time escapes the sight of God and that our history is bound to Christs’. One day, at the closing of our eyes or from the glimmer in the heavens, this age will pass away; our sorrows will be borne and we will experience the freedom and knowledge that comes in the presence of Christ. This, in no way, trivializes our time on this earth, in fact, it is the only way affecting change, calling out sin, or improving the human condition. Yet, it is not in our hands that history is laid.

Moses wrote of the temporal nature of man in Psalm 90:

Lord, you have been our dwelling place in all generations. Before the mountains were brought forth, or ever you had formed the earth and the world, from everlasting to everlasting you are God. You return man to dust and say, “Return, O children of man!” For a thousand years in your sight are but as yesterday when it is past, or as a watch in the night…

The years of our life are seventy, or even by reason of strength eighty; yet their span is but toil and trouble; they are soon gone, and we fly away…

So teach us to number our days that we may get a heart of wisdom. Return, O Lord! How long? Have pity on your servants! Satisfy us in the morning with your steadfast love, that we may rejoice and be glad all of our days. Make us glad for as many days as you have afflicted us, and for as many years as we have seen evil.

Our fleeting nature reminds us that the only change or victory comes from the hands of the Lord. My heart longs to pray with the patriarch as he cries out: “Return, O Lord!”, “Have pity on your servants!”, and “Satisfy us in the morning with your steadfast love.” This is the joy we can take from our frailty. This is the song we can sing knowing that our days are few. Help us to understand that we are dust and to dust shall return. While we tread the rocks and briars of this earth, satisfy us, and hear us as we rejoice in you; in that we shall forever be satisfied by you.

2 Corinthians 12:7-9

So to keep me from becoming conceited because of the surpassing greatness of the revelations, a thorn was given me in the flesh, a messenger of Satan to harass me, to keep me from becoming conceited. Three times I pleaded with the Lord about this, that it should leave me. But he said to me, “My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness.” Therefore I will boast all the more gladly of my weaknesses, so that the power of Christ may rest upon me.

2^nd Corinthians 12:7-9

Ever since chapter 10, Paul has been defending his ministry to the Corinthian Christians. We can get a window into the structure of the early Church by witnessing its problems. The question of authenticity was one that plagued the early churches. Who was to be trusted? With so many preachers rotating through the early congregations, who was to be believed? These believers sought whole-heartedly to follow Jesus but often wavered in their support of Paul or other genuine apostles (genuine in that they followed the early church’s system for authority: that they had gotten their teachings from Christ Himself). In light of the somewhat prideful and unscrupulous resumes of certain missionaries, Paul presents his own credentials all the while noting tangentially that he has no need to do so. The whole of chapter 11 is a summary of all that Paul has suffered in His service to Christ. We will touch on this in a later portion of Scripture but suffice to say that Paul’s suffering and trials served as the evidence of the purity of his teaching.

Paul continues in the first portion of chapter 12 relating the story of an unknown believer (most scholars think it was Paul himself) who witnesses to the glories of heaven. The images witnessed must have been too wondrous to describe to others (similar to the Transfiguration) and thus Paul’s knowledge of them had to remain his alone.

This brings us to what is one of the larger themes in the entire letter of 2^nd Corinthians: the concept that God’s power is made most evident in light of man’s weakness. One can trace this theme throughout Scripture back to the nation of Israel, whose failures served to highlight the justice and faithfulness of their God and indeed back to the Garden where the Lord laid out the foundations of a redemptive path in light of Adam’s first and greatest weakness.

The Reason for Trials

So to keep me from becoming conceited because of the surpassing greatness of the revelations, a thorn was given me in the flesh, a messenger of Satan to harass me, to keep me from becoming conceited.

Throughout the last 2000 years many have conjectured what Paul’s ‘thorn’ was. Some popular theories are chronic eye problems, malaria, migraines, epilepsy, a speech impediment, or even another person. Though we cannot know for sure to what Paul was referring, we can know for sure why it was given. Paul states that it was given so that he didn’t become conceited.

I find it interesting that Paul takes a step back and analyzes the reason behind the affliction. In our own lives we don’t tend to do this. When some trial enters our life we rarely look at the spiritual causes behind it. Rather, we spend our efforts complaining about or fighting against it.

Scripture maintains that trials often have a reason they are given to us. Note that I said ‘given’, as Paul does. Satan does not operate free from the sovereign will of the Father. Even in his rebellion he is limited in his scope. We see this in his interaction in Job’s life and we see it again here as it is said that Paul was given a messenger of Satan. In this we see that even trials flow from the will of our good Father who desires our sanctification.

In observing Scripture we can see several reasons that we are given trials:

1.       To humble us. This is the reason Paul describes here. We are so apt to attribute great skills and knowledge to ourselves that sometimes the Lord has to send affliction to bring our Spirit’s to a place of humility.

2.       To discipline. In a similar way, sometimes the Lord has to discipline his children to ensure that they continue to seek to good, righteous path and bring glory and honor to the Father. We can see this over and over in the history of the nation of Israel who was constantly rebelling and repenting. The Assyrian and Babylonian captivities are the clearest witness to this. Speaking to this, the writer of Hebrews states: It is for discipline that you have to endure. God is treating you as sons. For what son is there whom his father does not discipline? … For the moment all discipline seems painful rather than pleasant, but later it yields the peaceful fruit of righteousness to those who have been trained by it. Though it may be hard to hear, sometimes we suffer affliction and trial as a gentle (or sometimes not so gentle) rebuke to bring our erring hearts back to God.

3.       To perfect us. Sometimes the affliction and trials serve to perfect us in Christ’s image. James writes: Count it all joy, my brothers, when you meet trials of various kinds, for you know that the testing of your faith produces steadfastness. And let steadfastness have its full effect, that you may be perfect and complete, lacking in nothing. Though paradoxical, sometimes it is in fact the trials and obstacles we encounter that cause us to draw nearer to the Lord and to more closely abide in Him, obeying more and more the Law of Love, and relying ever more upon His Spirit for our strength.

Trials Aren’t Easy

Three times I pleaded with the Lord about this, that it should leave me.

This might seem obvious, but Paul’s narrative illustrates what we often feel: afflictions aren’t easy. As obvious as this might seem, often our perceived notion of what a ‘good Christian’ is causes us to downplay the seriousness and pain of affliction and trial. There is a reality of pain. There is a reality to being conflicted. Even Paul admits to it here. He didn’t want whatever this ‘thorn’ was. He prayed that it would go away. This should serve to validate our pain. It doesn’t make excuses for further sinful action, but it goes a long way towards breaking down the perception that a mature believer doesn’t suffer affliction or that their effects are somehow muted. Trials are, I believe, a sign of a mature believer rather than a signal of immaturity.

Power in Weakness

But he said to me, “My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness.” Therefore I will boast all the more gladly of my weaknesses, so that the power of Christ may rest upon me.

We get now to the meat of Paul’s illustration, and indeed for much of the letter to the Corinthians. After taking his concerns and pains to the Lord in prayer Paul receives a response. We do not know how Paul received this, whether it was an audible voice or the voice of the Spirit speaking in his heart, but we do know that the Lord responded.

First, the Lord responds: My grace is sufficient for you. Now this wasn’t the response Paul was likely seeking. Instead of addressing Paul’s specific concern, the Lord responds in broader strokes. The Lord maintains that His grace (unmerited favor) is sufficient in ALL situations. There is no situation in which the grace of God will be found lacking. There is no struggle in which the grace of God is NOT able to redeem. No matter the sin; no matter the trial; no matter the affliction, the grace of God is sufficient for us. Healing may come. Our prayers may be answered. We may see restoration. Beyond all that though, the grace of God is sufficient for us. It is sufficient if the sickness remains. It is sufficient if oppression continues. It is sufficient even if we still struggle (and we will) to live purely for Christ. This grace is sufficient both on a sacrificial and legal level, but (I believe) this verse speaks more towards the unfailing comfort and spirit of perseverance it brings to our soul.

Secondly, the Lord gives a reason as to who His grace is sufficient for us, namely: for my power is made perfect in weakness. This anecdote comes in the context of accusations from the Corinthians (or at least the offending preachers) that Paul was weak. To this Paul responds with the confidence that it is in weakness that God’s power is made and displayed most fully. Paul served the risen God. He served with passion and confidence, but he was a man just like any of us. He served the Lord with flaws, with biases, with his own foolish moments. We all have born the mark of weakness from the very first moments in the Garden. We are weak both in body (easily sickened, broken, and quickly fading) and in spirit (we all have sinned and fallen short of the glory of God.) We can all attest to the myriad of ways in which we exhibit the signs of weakness.

Yet

Yet the Lord asserts that is in our weakness of body and soul that His power is “made perfect.” This not to say that the Lord needs our weakness to properly demonstrate His character but rather that our innate weakness as human beings serves as the perfect backdrop to illustrate the power and might of God the Father. There is no better contrast. If the Lord can work through a flawed man such as Paul or a flawed man or woman such as you or I, then He is truly able to do anything. This is not to excuse sin. By no means. The grace of God should draw us ever closer to Christ and increase our love of the Lord which will lead to obedience to His commandments. This is why Paul can state (in v10): For when I am weak, then I am strong. It is the power of Christ in us that gives us the strength to do anything. We rely completely upon it. When we come up against those who would point to our own sicknesses, biases, or sinful history, we can and should confidently agree (not from self-righteousness) but in that if the Lord is able to do anything through us, then He is able to do anything through anybody.

I don’t know where you struggle. I don’t know where I will struggle tomorrow. I don’t know when health will fail me. I don’t know when my faltering spirit might give in to temptation. I don’t know when doubt will cast shade upon the walls of my heart and mind. In that moment, you and I can stand firm against the shadow; against the accuser (human, psychological, or heavenly) and state that God’s grace is sufficient for me. Let it echo through halls of our mind: God’s grace is sufficient for me.

I Am Prejudiced

I’ve been doing a great deal of thinking about prejudice, racism, and its place in our country and the world. Numerous public incidents have rightly brought the issue to the forefront of our cultural conversation. I have come to the belief that we are coming to the wrong conclusion. We have traded the noble quest for justice for one of finding scapegoats. In our discussions on the matter we have rightly sought to root out injustice but our means to do so is by labelling people as “racist” or creating racist monsters. In the age of social media and instant new feeds it has become par for the course to scour a persons’ tweets, public statements, or Facebook posts for instances of prejudice. When we find them, we label that person a “racist” or the crime a “hate crime.” In doing so, we do not accurately address the problem. Instead of addressing the issue we instead create an “other” that allows us to shift the focus off ourselves. A celebrity with a twitter post becomes a “racist”. A police officer who allows his biases to affect his actions becomes a “racist.”

The reality is that we are all prejudiced. All of us. Racism is not something “other people” are. Each of us comes into people and situations with preconceived notions about others whether that is due to race, gender, age, socioeconomic statues, or what have you. When we walk into a convenience store, or a library, or an opera house, we all make judgements about the people we see there. Racism is merely one form of prejudice. The problem is when we let our prejudices outweigh logic and our command to love our neighbor. All crime is hate crime because we are asserting that our needs or beliefs outweigh the rights of others. When we turn our God-given desire for justice into a witch-hunt to find “those racist people” we do not accurately understand the problem. The problem is in us as much as it is in the neo-Nazi, or the abusive cop, or the militaristic regime. Throwing the term “racist” about like a grenade may be the easy way of addressing the issue but it will be ultimately unsuccessful. Until we admit that we are all biased, we can never have a real conversation about how to remedy it. Until we admit that we are all biased, we can never truly fulfill Christ’s command to love our neighbor as we love ourselves. The only cure for prejudices is found in admitting that we have them. I fear that we are becoming a society in which it is not safe to admit this. Just as the addict cannot hope to have victory until he turns the mirror upon himself and sees the truth of his addiction, we cannot hope to address the injustice of systematic prejudice until we see it within ourselves. Only then can we start down the path of allowing logic and real experiences to outweigh the prejudice.

Speaking to the prejudice of his day, Paul wrote: “There is neither Jew nor Greek, there is neither slave nor free man, there is neither male nor female, for you are all one in Christ Jesus, then who are Abraham's descendants, heirs according to the promise”.

It is only when we turn the mirror upon ourselves and our own prejudices can we (as a society) ever hope to understand the unity in Christ that Paul was writing about. Unconfessed sin sickens the heart and is loathsome to the Lord. Let us come together and confess that we are influenced by our prejudices. Only then can light ever shine into the darkness.

Yes, I am prejudiced. Yes, I have let those prejudices lead me to sin. I am sorry. Let’s talk about this.

My Heart is a Raging Fire (Once For All)

 My heart is a raging fire,

Ablaze by the spark of sin,

Covetous in every desire,

Devoid of hope within.

Even my best intentions

Find their root in sin.

What hope in my condition

But in complete abandon?

 Once for all you did died

 Once for all sin reconciled

Once for all my soul restored

 Once for all my life is yours

All these years I’ve wasted

In willful, wanton pride,

All for myself deluded.

Such a wasted life.

Once for all my flesh did die.

Once for all born again.

 In your grace I rise forgiven

With Thy Spirit favors win.

 Once for all you did die.

Once for all sin reconciled.

 Once for all my soul restored.

Once for all my life is yours.

In my brokenness and weakness

My life to you surrendered.

Take my days and hours in your service

My will to Thine is yielded.

In Thy eternal wisdom send me

 Out where’re Your Spirit make plain

In humility I’ll serve Thee

Your Kingdom glory be my aim.